The first episode of Hum Log was aired on 7 July, 1984. It had 156 episodes and each episode was about 25 minutes long. The eminent actor Ashok Kumar was the narrator, and the music was scored by Anil Biswas.
A Dog Actor of Bollywood
Moti, the ubiquitous black Labrador of Bollywood, was literally the hero of the film Teri Meherbaniyan as he did matchmaking, shed abundant tears, performed the last rites of his master (Jackie Shroff) and took revenge. Moti single-handedly cared for an infant in Maa when the baby’s mother passed away. Moti has been the part of the horse-dog duo in Mard and …
An Independent Government in Tamluk, West Bengal
During the Quit India Movement, a parallel government was established in Tamluk, West Bengal, called the Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar, an independent government. The Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar was really active since it set up Police Stations, Military Departments, Courts and even a system for revenue collection. The Government functioned from December 17, 1942 to August 8, 1944. It was dissolved …
The naming of Shimla
In Jakhoo hill, there was a temple of Shyamala or Kali in 1845. The British shifted this temple to what is now known as Shimla. The name of the place was based on this goddess.
Town in Kashmir has two temples in ruins with intriguing lore
Avantipur is a town founded by Avanti Varman, who founded the Utpala Dynasty in the 9th century. There are a couple of temples Avantishwar (dedicated to Shiva) and Avantiswami (dedicated to Vishnu). Such a combination is generally rare. The temples are in ruins now.
The mathematician who calculated the height of Mount Everest
Radhanath Sikdar (1813–1870) was an Indian mathematician who among many other things calculated the height of Peak XV in the Himalaya and showed it to be the tallest mountain above sea level. Peak XV was later named Mount Everest.